November ii, 1920] 



NATURE 



359 



meats with existing plants. Some controversial 

 matters arose in the discussion of the Third Report 

 of the Fuel Economy Committee, which was presented 

 bv Prof. Bone. The report includes a memorandum 

 by Prof. Louis urging improvements in the collection 

 and presentation of mining statistics, and these 

 recommendations have been adopted by the Com- 

 mittee. The Committee further disagreed with the 

 policy of the Fuel Research Board in regard to the 

 regulation of the quality of gas, and insisted on the 

 importance of the limitation of inert constituents and 

 sulphur. The hope was expressed that a further 

 opoortunitv would be afforded to the Committee to 

 submit its views to the Board of Trade before the 

 matter was finally settled. The policy of the Fuel 

 Research Board was defended by a later speaker, 

 and references were made in the discussion to the use 

 of colloidal fuel and to the recovery of ethylene from 

 coke-oven gas. The Section asked for the re- 

 appointment of the Committee, which has done valu- 

 able work in directing public attention to the urgent 

 national need for fuel economy. .\n allied subject was 

 dealt with by Dr. Owens in his paper on the measure- 

 ment of smoke pollution as carried out by a Com- 

 mittee of the Meteorological Office. The methods of 

 determining acidity in air have been improved, but a 

 good method of estimating the amount of acidity 

 borne by the suspended solid particles is still lacking. 

 The discussion on lubrication covered similar ground 

 to that of recent meetings of technical societies, 

 Messrs. Wells and Southcombc described the influence 

 of small quantities of free fatty acids in lubricating 

 oils, and Dr. Dunstan directed attention to the present 

 icnorance of the chemical nature of mineral oils. 

 The mode of .irtion of acids on these oils is almost 

 completely unknown. Mr. Tizard regarded lubrica- 

 tion as dependent on the formation of an adsorbing 

 layer on the surface of the metal bearing, and men- 

 tioned curious results obtained in determining surface 

 tension between mercurv and oils bv the drop method. 

 Castor oil and glycerol have about the same visrosilv. 

 but the former is a good lubricant and the latter 

 worthless. Mercurv drops falling through castor oil 

 remain Intact at the bottom of the vessel like lead 

 shot, whilst in glvrorol thev coalesce immediately. 



Mr. Vogel's paper on tungsten described the methods 

 employed in the manufacture of the metal at Widnes, 

 and included an interesting account of the steps taken 

 bv the steelmakers of this country, when the outbreak 

 of war deprived them completely of supplies of this 

 most essential metal, to meet the requirements of the 

 industry, with such success that all the tungsten, 

 needed is now manufactured at home, whilst a surplus 

 remains for export, the quality being superior to that 

 of the metal used before the war. Prof. Desch gave 

 an account of the preparation and properties of ductile 

 tungsten, and directed attention to the remarkable 

 properties of the metal in the drawn state, a complete 

 theoretical explanation of which is still lacking. Mr. 

 Field's paper claimed great advantages for the elec- 

 trolytic method of extracting zinc over the usual dis- 

 tillation process, and urged its more widespread 

 adoption. Two short analytical papers were presented 

 by Dr. Stanford, and the last session closed with an 

 exceedingly interesting account by Prof. Jaeger, of 

 Groningen, of his determinations of the surface ten- 

 sion and electrical conductivity of organic liquids and 

 fused salts over the remarkably wide range of 

 -100° C. to -f 1600° C. 



The report of the Committee on Absorption Spectra, 

 which was taken as read and not discussed, consisted 

 mainly of an exposition by Prof. Baly of his theory 

 of absorption. This paper might have furnished the 

 basis of a good discussion, as the physical theory 

 involved is novel, and criticism from both the chemical 

 and the physical sides should be expected. Whilst 

 numerous papers on the use of atomic frequencies 

 and of the idea of quanta have been published in 

 recent years, there has been no thorough discussion of 

 such views, and most chemists have allowed the 

 communications to pass without submitting them to 

 any rigorous scrutiny, so that it is uncertain how 

 far the new ideas are likely to meet with accept- 

 ance. 



Cardiff afforded manv opportunities for the inspec- 

 tion of chemical industries of varied kinds, and the 

 Sectional excursions, which were well attended, in- 

 cluded visits to iron- and steel-works, copper-smelting 

 works, tinplate works, gasworks, and a rubber 

 factory. 



The Lakher Head-hunters of Upper Burma. 



AT the opening meeting of the session of the Royal 

 .•\nthropological Institute, held on Tuesday, 

 October 26, Prof. F. G. Parsons, vice-president, in 

 the chair, Mr. Reginald A. Lorrain, of the Lakher 

 Pioneer Mission, read a paper on " Lakherland, the 

 Home of the Head-hunters." 



Lakherland lies on the border of Upper Burma, 

 and is some twenty days' march from civilisation. 

 The Lakhors, who are practically unknown to the 

 civili.sed world, are of the Mongolian type, and 

 chocolate-coloured. While the men wear a small loin- 

 cloth only, save for a large blanket thrown round 

 them in the colder evenings, the women wear more 

 clothing, their garments consisting of a piece of cloth 

 (or a skirt reaching down to the ankles, while a 

 breast-jarket nearly covers the upper portion of the 

 body. This jacket is open at the bark in order that 

 the heavy loads the women carry should not wear 

 out the garment. The men allow their hair to grow 

 long, but it is fastened in a large knot on the top 

 of the head with long brass pins. K plume of horse- 

 hair is entwined in the head-cloth to show that the 

 wearer has taken a head. The children run about 

 in a nude condition up to the age of ten or twelve 

 years. 



NO. 2663, VOL. 106] 



The Lakhers arc skilled smiths, although their tools 

 and appliances are of the simplest character. The 

 forge consists of three slabs of stone, and the bellows 

 are hollowed trunks of trees in which is fitted a 

 plunger consisting of a circular disc fitted to a handle, 

 feathers being attached to the rim of the disc to- 

 make the plunger practically airtight. Pottery is 

 made bv the women without a wheel. The clay,, 

 which IS obtained from the white-ant heaps, is 

 moulded between a stone held inside the pot and a 

 hammer with rope wound over the head. 



An interesting feature in a dance described by Mr. 

 Lorrain' was that the ceremonial headdress of the 

 chief for this occasion, which is handed down from 

 father to son, was always worn by the chief's 

 daughter. 



The dead arc buried in graves immedi.ntely outside 

 the dwelling-hou.ses. The grave consists of a hole 

 about 4 ft. square, but the body is placed in a small, 

 sloping trench or tunnel underground excavated from 

 one side of this hole. The body is pushed Into the 

 tunnel fret first, the cavity then being closed with a 

 stone. ;\n ornamental wooden pole, with projections 

 or ears which distinguish by their number the sex 

 of the deceased, is erected over the grave. Outside 



